Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, January 11
DeKalb, Ill.
3:30 p.m. CT
Eastern Michigan University
10-6 (0-3MAC)
68
at
71
Northern Illinois
9-7 (2-1MAC)
1
2
F
Eastern Michigan
24
44
68
Northern Illinois
32
39
71
Late Rally Not Enough for EMU, Falls at NIU
1/11/2020 8:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Four Eagles scored in double-figures
DEKALB, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball program's second half comeback came short, as the Eagles dropped a 71-68 Mid-American Conference affair at West Division opponent Northern Illinois University tonight, Jan. 11, in DeKalb, Ill.
EMU (10-6, 0-3 MAC) trailed by 12 (64-52) with 1:44 left in the second half, but responded with a 17-3 run over the next 90 seconds to cut NIU's lead to a one-point game (67-66). Junior Noah Morgan (Mount Vernon, N.Y.-Mount Vernon (Northwest Florida State)) hit back-to-back jumpers to start the second-half rally with classmate Yeikson Montero (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-Redemption Christian Academy (Pensacola State)) finishing the run with a short jumper to cut the deficit to one with 23 seconds left, however, NIU drained four from the line to seal the victory. The Eagle defense held the Huskies (9-7, 2-1 MAC) to zero field goals for the last 2:44 minutes of the contest.
Morgan led the Eagles with 16 points, all of which came in the second half, to go along with five rebounds and three steals. Montero was the second Eagle to reach double-figures with 15 points, while redshirt senior Boubacar Toure (Dakar, Senegal-Phase One Academy (Grand Canyon)) notched his fifth double-double of the season and the 13th of his EMU career with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Thomas Binelli (Bologna, Italy-Bergen Catholic (Monroe College)) also recorded a double-figure scoring performance with a career-high 13 points.
Senior Eugene German led Northern Illinois with 17 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, while classmate Noah McCarty tallied 14 points. Sophomore Trendon Hankerson dished out six of NIU's 18 assists.
Eastern Michigan finished the evening with a 41 percent field-goal efficiency, going 25-of-61 from the floor, but struggled from beyond the arc ending with a 24 clip (6-of-25). The Huskies shot 41 percent from the floor (23-of-56), and concluded the night with a 39 percentage, going 7-of-18, from deep.
The Eagles outscored the Huskies in points off turnovers (16-10), in the paint (32-20), second chance baskets (12-10), and off the bench (29-25). However, NIU held the rebounding advantage, 43-36, and dished out four more helpers than EMU (18-14). Each team tallied eight steals.
Eastern opened the game strong offensively as the Eagles went on a 7-4 stint off a Toure layup to start the game. The Huskies answered with a triple from German to tie the game at 7-7 and then went on a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 10 points before the first media timeout (10:15). Back-to-back field goals by Toure gave the Eagles a three-point lead with 5 minutes left before halftime, but NIU posted an 8-0 run to finish the first half with an 8-point lead (32-24).
Coming out of the locker room for the second half was not kind to EMU as the Huskies scored three-straight baskets before freshman Shamar Dillard (South Bend, Ill.-Riley (SPIRE Institute)) ended the Eagle scoring drought with a short jumper at the 17:46 mark. NIU continued to lead the majority of the second half by double-digits until Morgan drained one from beyond the arc with 1:30 left in the game.
Eastern Michigan begins a two-game homestand as the Eagles welcome MAC West co-leader Ball State University Tuesday, Jan. 14, inside the Convocation Center. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. Be sure to follow @EMUHoops on Twitter, and visit EMUEagles.com for the most up-to-date information on all things EMU men's basketball.
EMU (10-6, 0-3 MAC) trailed by 12 (64-52) with 1:44 left in the second half, but responded with a 17-3 run over the next 90 seconds to cut NIU's lead to a one-point game (67-66). Junior Noah Morgan (Mount Vernon, N.Y.-Mount Vernon (Northwest Florida State)) hit back-to-back jumpers to start the second-half rally with classmate Yeikson Montero (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-Redemption Christian Academy (Pensacola State)) finishing the run with a short jumper to cut the deficit to one with 23 seconds left, however, NIU drained four from the line to seal the victory. The Eagle defense held the Huskies (9-7, 2-1 MAC) to zero field goals for the last 2:44 minutes of the contest.
Morgan led the Eagles with 16 points, all of which came in the second half, to go along with five rebounds and three steals. Montero was the second Eagle to reach double-figures with 15 points, while redshirt senior Boubacar Toure (Dakar, Senegal-Phase One Academy (Grand Canyon)) notched his fifth double-double of the season and the 13th of his EMU career with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Thomas Binelli (Bologna, Italy-Bergen Catholic (Monroe College)) also recorded a double-figure scoring performance with a career-high 13 points.
Senior Eugene German led Northern Illinois with 17 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, while classmate Noah McCarty tallied 14 points. Sophomore Trendon Hankerson dished out six of NIU's 18 assists.
Eastern Michigan finished the evening with a 41 percent field-goal efficiency, going 25-of-61 from the floor, but struggled from beyond the arc ending with a 24 clip (6-of-25). The Huskies shot 41 percent from the floor (23-of-56), and concluded the night with a 39 percentage, going 7-of-18, from deep.
The Eagles outscored the Huskies in points off turnovers (16-10), in the paint (32-20), second chance baskets (12-10), and off the bench (29-25). However, NIU held the rebounding advantage, 43-36, and dished out four more helpers than EMU (18-14). Each team tallied eight steals.
Eastern opened the game strong offensively as the Eagles went on a 7-4 stint off a Toure layup to start the game. The Huskies answered with a triple from German to tie the game at 7-7 and then went on a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 10 points before the first media timeout (10:15). Back-to-back field goals by Toure gave the Eagles a three-point lead with 5 minutes left before halftime, but NIU posted an 8-0 run to finish the first half with an 8-point lead (32-24).
Coming out of the locker room for the second half was not kind to EMU as the Huskies scored three-straight baskets before freshman Shamar Dillard (South Bend, Ill.-Riley (SPIRE Institute)) ended the Eagle scoring drought with a short jumper at the 17:46 mark. NIU continued to lead the majority of the second half by double-digits until Morgan drained one from beyond the arc with 1:30 left in the game.
Eastern Michigan begins a two-game homestand as the Eagles welcome MAC West co-leader Ball State University Tuesday, Jan. 14, inside the Convocation Center. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. Be sure to follow @EMUHoops on Twitter, and visit EMUEagles.com for the most up-to-date information on all things EMU men's basketball.
Team Stats
EMU
NIU
FG%
.410
.411
3FG%
.240
.389
FT%
.706
.720
RB
36
43
TO
13
14
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
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